Week 2 at Bethlehem Center of Nashville

I am well into my second week here at Bethlehem Center, and I have become much more involved and emotionally attached to this wonderful place. I am continuing to work with Ms. Jaynie in the adult GED program and I have met one wonderful woman who comes to me everyday and just asks that I work on her reading skills and vocabulary. We sit and read stories together and answer questions about them, and when we are done she is so thankful for the help that it makes me feel blessed to be the one to get to work with her! This GED program is truly trying to help these people give themselves a better life, and I am proud to be apart of it.

Now, in the afternoons from 12:30 to 2:00, I have been assigned to The Shopping Bag, which is the thrift store affiliated with Bethlehem Center. It relies solely on donations, and all profits go directly towards Bethlehem Center so as to improve other programs, such as child care and adult education. I have been working with Heather, the manager of The Shopping Bag, to set up an Ebay account for the store, and we have been listing different items in the hopes of making more of a profit to help Bethlehem Center. I also work in the back, sorting and ironing clothes so that they are ready to be sold. After only working there for several days, one of the women, Mrs. Sarah, smiled at me and told me "Girl, you're already apart of the family" - and they have been treating me as such. I love the relationships I am forming with these wonderful people!

Finally, at the end of my day, from 2:00 until 3:30 (though I always leave much later than that because I am enjoying myself too much), I continue to work with the children. It amazes me to be able to put names with all of the faces, and to be able to have a personal relationship with the individual children. They smile and wave as I walk into the gym, and it fills me with so much joy that I know I wouldn't want to be anywhere else for this summer. We play games inside or outside, and mostly the kids beg me to play basketball with them, or race them. I am tired at the end of the day, but it is always worth it. The kids bring me so much joy just by getting to see them having fun every day in an environment where they feel comfortable. It is truly a blessing to be working at Bethlehem Centers of Nashville.